Worcester Christmas Fayre

Throughout the fall term I taught on Thursday evenings from 2:15 until 5:15.  What that meant is that I was unable to spend much time with my husband on his last day in Worcester.  We decided to spend the evening with friends, reviewing the Worcester Christmas Fayre.  We all met at the Hive and headed in to town to see the sights.  This fair is billed as Victorian, and the vendors dress the part.

These booths were up and down the High Street, the Shambles and Friar/New Street.  At the far end of the street was a carnival-like amusement array.  The best ride was this beautiful merry-go-round.

But this one was sweet.

The noise, however, was a bit overwhelming.

We decided to bail on the fair and look for some dinner.  A new Italian restaurant has opened in the Crown Gate.  As we walked on the High Street, we were greeted by someone representing that restaurant serving free mulled wine.  That was inducement enough for us.  The mulled wine was delicious and so was the food.

We saw the Crown Gate's decorations on our way in to the restaurant.

Certain members of our family have taken to posing like statues.  My husband was inspired by the reindeer.

Our meal was very good, but after we were done it was time to get back to the flat and prepare for an early morning train to Birmingham.

The next night, we went back to the fair.  This time, we didn't have to go through the amusement park section.  We spent most of our time on High Street and Friar. 

This "living statue" (the first I've seen since I was in Barcelona 10 years ago) was asked to leave the High Street, but she was back the next day. 

One of the phenomena of the fair was the "pop-up" shop.

I loved this one devoted to hats.  It was there for the fair, but now it's gone.

This was probably my favorite window.  That's all cake!

The next day, we arranged to meet at the fair to hear the Vocano Choir sing outside the Guild Hall.

Father Christmas stopped by and asked about the choir's collection for charity (it was World AIDS day, and the money collect was going to help with AIDS research in Africa.

After the choir, we went down the High Street just a ways to see Morris Dancers.

The whole town just buzzed with activity all weekend long.  Here's one last photo of a living statue.

It's clear how much this event means to the city of Worcester.